Online Midwifery Schools Offering CNM Masters Degrees in Michigan

As Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioners (APRNs), Michigan’s certified nurse midwives often serve as a woman’s primary healthcare provider and gynecologist, in addition to providing gentle whole-person care to mothers and neonates throughout the birthing process and perinatal period. While most of Michigan’s certified nurse midwives are found working in hospital obstetric wards, many also work at freestanding birth centers and women’s clinics. Some even specialize in attending childbirth in the homes of the women in their care.

According to the Michigan Affiliate of the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM), there were over 200 certified nurse midwives (CNMs) licensed to practice in the state as of 2014. This number is expected to rise in the coming years, as more women turn to CNMs for everything from general well-woman care to facilitating home birth. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the percentage of out-of-hospital births in Michigan increased from 0.74% in 2008 to 1.07% in 2012. The growing demand for less invasive nurse midwifery care during childbirth and beyond is creating new employment opportunities for CNMs in conventional clinical settings, as well as a growing number of opportunities for those interested in independent practice.

Steps to Becoming a Nurse Midwife in Michigan

RNs who wish to become certified nurse midwives in Michigan must meet the qualifications for specialty certification through the American Midwifery Certification Board and advanced practice licensure through the Michigan Board of Nursing. The steps in this guide offer detailed information on how to become a certified nurse midwife in Michigan:

Bachelor’s prepared RNs who wish to specialize in nurse midwifery may apply to Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs with a focus in nurse midwifery or a dual focus in nurse midwifery and women’s health. RNs who only hold an associate’s degree must apply to an RN-to-MSN program with a focus in midwifery, as this path will allow them to obtain both their bachelor’s of science in nursing and their MSN. In all cases, qualifying programs must have received accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME).

A growing trend among aspiring nurse midwives is to pursue graduate programs that offer a duel specialization in nurse midwifery and women’s health. Graduates of these programs may go on to earn women’s health nurse practitioner (WHNP-BC) certification through the National Certification Corporation in addition to their certified nurse midwife (CNM) credential through the American Midwifery Certification Board. Electing to pursue both certifications would also allow them to be recognized in both roles through the Michigan Board of Nursing.

In Michigan, RNs have the option to pursue the following degrees on site:

Master of Science in Nursing with a Nurse-Midwife (NMW) Specialty (Detroit)

Master’s in Nurse Midwifery (Ann Arbor)

RNs often choose to pursue graduate degrees through flexible online programs designed to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. This is particularly true of nurse-midwifery programs as there are relatively few available at campus locations. Examples of accredited online nurse midwife programs include:

Registered Nurse to Master of Science (RN-to-MSN) with a Specialization in Nurse Midwifery

Master of Science in Nurse Midwifery

Master of Science in Nursing with a Women’s Health CNS/Nurse Midwifery Track

Nurse midwife programs consist of a mix between classroom and clinical coursework. Classroom-based coursework typically consists of between 40-60 credits and covers topics including, but not limited to:

Newborn Care

Midwifery Care During Pregnancy

Family Crisis Care

Midwifery Care During Labor

Pharmacology

Biostatistics for Health Care Providers

Women’s Reproductive Healthcare

Physiology & Pathophysiology

Ambulatory Care of Women

The clinical portion of these master’s programs are designed to give RNs hands-on experience and exposure to patients in a real-world setting. Clinicals typically consist of between 700 and 1,000 hours of work at a nearby hospital or birth clinic. Online programs partner with local hospitals in Michigan to serve as clinical training sites to ensure graduate students have convenient access to facilities that support clinical training in their area.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) provides a nurse specialty certification packet on its website that includes both application instructions and the application form necessary to obtain a Nurse Midwife Specialist Certification in the state.

Nurse midwife specialist certification candidates must complete the first section of the application themselves. The second section must be completed by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB) and sent to the Michigan Board of Nursing.

Those choosing to obtain certification to practice as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner in addition to their Nurse Midwife Specialist Certification must complete section one of the Nurse Practitioner Specialty Certification form on the LARA website. The National Certification Corporation (NCC) must complete section two of the form and forward it to the Michigan Board of Nursing to confirm the candidate’s certification.

Applicants must submit an application fee of $38 or $52 in the form of a check or money order made payable to the State of Michigan, depending on the date of their application. The completed form and fee should be sent to the following address:

Step 4. Explore Career Options Available to Certified Nurse Midwives in Michigan

Upon receiving a nurse midwife specialty certification from the Michigan Board of Nursing, CNMs in the state may begin exploring career opportunities in one of Michigan’s many hospitals and birth clinics. Examples of potential CNM employers in Michigan include:

Borgess Women’s Health in locations throughout Michigan

Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo

Covenant Medical Center Harrison in Saginaw

Greenhouse Birth Center in Okemos

Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit

Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in West Bloomfield Township

Holland Hospital in Holland

Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Charter Township

Hutzel Women’s Hospital in Detroit

Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak

Midwifery Matters in Greenville

North Ottawa Community Health System in Grand Haven

Providence Park Hospital in Southfield

Simply Born in Grand Rapids

Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital in Ypslanti

Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia

UP Health System in Marquette

Job listings help illustrate the range of nurse midwife careers available in Michigan (Not meant to imply the assurance or availability of jobs. These listings were taken from a survey of job vacancy announcements in December 2015 and are shown as illustrative examples only):

Active Nurse Midwife at U.S. Army Healthcare Team in Detroit

Certified Nurse Midwife at Botsford Hospital in Royal Oak

Certified Nurse Midwife-OB/ED Triage at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit

Certified Nurse Midwife at Women’s Excellence in Lake Orion

Nurse Midwife – Certified at Botsford Hospital in Dearborn

Nurse Midwife – Certified at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn

Salaries for Certified Nurse-Midwives in Michigan

In 2014, the United States Department of Labor reported that the average annual salary for nurse-midwives in Michigan was $95,560, the approximate average hourly equivalent of $45.94.

Certified nurse-midwives in Michigan who were just entering the field in 2014 earned annual salaries between $75,890 and $86,040, on average (between $36.49 and $41.36 hourly). Nurse-midwives practicing at the mid-career level reported average earnings of $97,460 annually ($46.85 per hour). Michigan’s most experienced nurse-midwives earned an average of $119,420 that same year ($57.41 per hour).

New University of Michigan Health Center Promises Job Growth for Certified Nurse-Midwives

The University of Michigan’s Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital Nurse-Midwifery Service is known statewide for its exceptional level of care and for the growing number of patients seeking the services of certified nurse-midwives to assist in their labor and delivery.

The clinic had just nine certified nurse-midwives on staff as of 2015, but the University has plans to expand the practice, with a stunning $46 million project that is being built just west of Ann Arbor. This new facility promises to usher in many employment opportunities for certified nurse-midwives entering the field in this area.

Detroit is Home to the First Nurse-Midwifery Practice in Michigan, which Still Boasts Competitive Salaries

The first certified nurse-midwifery clinic in the state of Michigan began welcoming patients in 1980. It was located at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit. Since its groundbreaking opening, the practice of nurse-midwifery has thrived throughout Michigan. It is no surprise, then, that about 42% of Michigan’s licensed certified nurse-midwives are employed in the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan area. The region’s median annual salary for CNMs in 2014 was $95,200, or approximately $45.77 per hour.

More detailed salary information for certified nurse-midwives in Michigan by region can be found in the table below (U.S. Department of Labor, 2014):